Kremlin Strategist Urges Liberal Party for ‘Annoyed’ Russians

By Lyubov Pronina -
Dec 6, 2011

Russia needs a new liberal party to
accommodate “annoyed” Moscow residents, the Kremlin’s first
deputy chief of staff said after thousands of people protested
parliamentary election results last night in the city.

“A mass liberal party is lacking” in the current
political system, Vladislav Surkov said in an interview posted
on the Ekho Moskvy radio station’s website today. “Apart from
communicating with the state, they also need representation in
Parliament.”

Opposition parties and international observers said the
Dec. 4 election was marred by violations including ballot-
stuffing. Thousands of protesters took to Moscow’s streets
yesterday to accuse Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s United
Russia of rigging the elections. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today called for an investigation into “fraud” in the
conduct of the vote.

“Attempts to rock the situation and interpret it in a
negative, provocative way are doomed to failure,” Surkov said.
“Everything is under control.”

President Dmitry Medvedev’s chief political strategist
dismissed talk of massive electoral violations as “wailing.”
United Russia’s preliminary tally of 49.3 percent was close to
exit polls that predicted the ruling party would win 48.5
percent of the vote, he said.

While United Russia’s support shrank at the polls, its
performance was excellent considering it steered a “diverse and
irritated society” through an economic crisis, Surkov said. The
ruling party will lead the nation to a “new political reality,
new stability,” he added.